EDITORrnThomas FlemingrnMANAGING EDITORrnTheodore PappasrnSENIOR EDITOR, BOOKSrnChilton Williamson, Jr.rnASSISTANT EDITORrnScott P. RichertrnART DIRECTORrnAnna Mycek-WodeckirnCONTRIBUTING EDITORSrnHarold O.J. Brown, KatherinernDalton, Samuel Francis,rnGeorge Garrett, Paul Gottfried,rnJ.O. Tate, Michael Washburn,rnClyde WilsonrnCORRESPONDING EDITORSrnBUI Kauffman, William Mills,rnJacob Neusner, Momcilo SelicrnEDITORIAL SECREIARYrnLeann DobbsrnPUBLISHERrnThe Rockford InstituternPUBLICATION DIRECTORrnGuy C. ReffettrnCIRCULATION MANAGERrnCindy LinkrnA publication of The Rockford Institute.rnEditorial and Advertising Offices:rn928 Norlh Main Street, Rockford, IE 61103.rnKditonal Phone: (815)964-5054.rnAdvertising Phone: (815)964-5813.rnSubscription Department: P.O. Box 800,rnMount Morris, IE 61054. Call 1-800-877-5459.rnU.S.A. Newsstand Distribution by Eastern NewsrnDistributors, Inc., One Media Way, 12406 Rt. 250rnMilan, Ohio 44848-9705rnCopyright © 1998 by The Rockford Institute.rnAll rights reser’cd.rnChmnkks (ISSN 0887-5731) is publishedrnnionthlv for $39.00 (foreign subscriptions add S12rnfor surface delivery, S48 for ..ir Mail) per year byrnThe Rockford Institute, 928 North Main Street,rnRockford, II, 61103-7061. Preferred periodicalrnpostage paid at Rockford, IL, aird additional mailingrnoffices. POST^4ASTER: Send address changesrnto Chronicles, P.O. Box 800, Mount Morris,rnIL 61054rnThe views expressed in Chronicles are thernauthors’ alone and do not necessarily reflectrnthe ie\s of The Rockford Institiite or of itsrndirectors. Unsolicited niamiscripts cannot bernreturned unless accompanied by a self-addressedrnstamped envelope.rnChroniclesrnVol 22, No. 4 April 1998rnPmitcd in liie l)iiit(.-(] Sl.ites of AiiiericarnPOLEMICS & EXCHANGESrnOn William F. Buckley On Celtic CulturernAs America’s foremost bugbear of neoconservatives,rnit is difficult to understandrnwhy Chronicles assigned William F.rnBuckley’s religious autobiography tornChilton Williamson, Jr. (“E’en ThoughrnIt Be a Cross,” January), a longtime associaternof Buckley during his employmentrnat National Review. The pretensions ofrnBuckley’s book, Nearer, My God, requirernthe critical observation of someone likernJoe Sobran, who has an intimate knowledgernof the darker side of Buckley’s character.rnHe might have wondered, inter alia,rnhow a man who “is unable to convey arnsense of his own personal struggle withrnCatholic Christianity” could convene arnforum of converts in order to considerrncontroversial moral teachings of hisrnChurch and then exclude abortion fromrnthe agenda as a doctrine about which nornone is in dissent, despite the fact that hernand Ernest van den Haag, a member ofrnthe forum, are public advocates of abortion.rnIn an article boldly entitied “Temporizingrnon Abortion” (National Review,rnAugust 29, 1994), reflecting our lack ofrnconsensus and “acknowledging the hardrnrealities of democratic politics,” Buckleyrnoffers America a GOP platform on abortion.rnUnder a Buckley regime, abortionrnwould be universally a’ailable except forrnsex selection, population control, girlsrnunder 16, and the third trimester—butrneven then it would be available for thernhealth (not life) of the mother (Nearer,rnMy GOP?).rnBuckley’s Church defines this “abominablerncrime” as the direct killing of anrnunborn human being. Any Catholicrnprocuring or formally cooperating in thisrnunqualified evil commits mortal sin andrnexcommunicates himself from the sacramentsrn(see Catechism of the CatholicrnChurch, paragraphs ZZyO-TS).rnEven if Buckley’s restrictions were significantrnand enforceable, which expertsrnon the abortion industry deny, therernwould still be at least a million pre-bornrnhumans consigned to their deaths eachrnyear. How a Catholic can reconcile thisrnhorror with the teachings of his Churchrnand draw nearer to God as a result, Irnthink we’re entitled to know.rn— Patrick AndrettarnMineola, NYrnMichael Hill’s January article, “CelticrnJustice,” is an interesting historical piecernfor anyone studying pagan Celtic culture.rnBut he seems to believe that somernform of Celtic-Irish law and tiadition stillrnexists today. This is pure fantasy. Therernis no Celtic world left. There is no survivingrnsystem of Celtic justice. Such arnworld exists only in a Celtic encyclopedia.rnThe Irish language barely exists. Itrnsurvives only on the west coast of Ireland,rnbut even there, the young are reluctantrnto speak it or to sing it in song. U2 is preferredrnalong with ever’ other empty featurernof the modern Americanized massrnculture.rnThe Irish have become the most conformistrnpeople on the planet. The Irishrnambassador to the United States recentlyrnchanged his name to an English spellingrnso that he would not confuse the Americans.rnDr. Hill also apparently admires thernIRA, which he seems to view as a continuationrnof the Celtic clan. He impliesrnthat the “Celtic idea of private justice”rnpartly explains why the IRA refusedrnto surrender their weapons at the startrnof a recent peace conference withrnBritain. But in reality, the IRA is a leftwingrnMarxist group which desires anrneven more secular transformation ofrnIreland.rnAlthough written about the decline ofrntraditional culture in the Highlands ofrnCeltic Scotland in the 1930’s (before thernadvent of television), Louis MacNeice’srnhumorous poem Bagpipe Music seemsrnto fit modern-day Ireland:rnIt’s no go the Yogi-man, it’s no gornBlavatsky,rnAll we want is a bank balance andrna bit of skirt in a taxi.rnAnnie MacDougall went to milk,rncaught her foot in the heather.rnWoke to hear a dance recordrnplaying of Old Vienna.rnIt’s no go vour maidenheads,rnit’s no go your culture,rnAll we want is a Dunlop t)’re andrnthe devil mend the pimcture.rn— Patrick WalshrnDorchester, MArn4/CHRONICLESrnrnrn